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Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson Named NBA Coach of the Year

He's the third Cleveland coach to win the honor.

Patrick Andres

Kenny Atkinson watches action during his Coach of the Year-winning season.
Kenny Atkinson watches action during his Coach of the Year-winning season. / David Richard-Imagn Images
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This season, coach Kenny Atkinson took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the next level—and on Monday, he was rewarded for it.

Atkinson has been named the NBA's Coach of the Year, the league announced Monday afternoon. The 57-year-old is the Cavaliers' third boss to win the award, joining Bill Fitch in 1976 and Mike Brown in 2009.

Cleveland hired Atkinson after the team lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals. He responded by turning a 48-34 team into a juggernaut, as the 64-18 Cavaliers posted the second-best record in the history of the franchise.

Finishing second to Atkinson was Cleveland's former coach, Detroit Pistons boss J.B. Bickerstaff. Under Bickerstaff's leadership, the Pistons—14-68 a year ago—went 44-38 and won its first playoff games in almost two decades.

Rounding out the voting were Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets, Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers, and JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Atkinson's Cavaliers trail the Indiana Pacers 1–0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

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